Fidelity

I often think and speak about living out our faith as followers of Jesus in the world and how we ought to interact with people who don't yet follow Him. The reality is that I am rarely able to do so myself. I did have one of those rare opportunities tonight. I went climbing at our local climbing gym with my sister-in-law and her husband. They have made some friends there and I got to meet them as well. One of the young men semi-spontaneously asked if we thought it was possible to be in a long term relationship without cheating. Of course, we said it is certainly possible and offered our relationships as evidence. I wasn't expecting to be able to talk with him further about it but as he was leaving I happened to be sitting near his stuff and we got to talking again.

I'm hopeful that what I said to him about relationships is helpful and moves him closer to God but I also learned from the experience. As I continued to reflect on the frame of mind required for someone in his position to have a relationship and remain faithful I examined my own heart. I recognized that what it requires for me is to put my wife and her needs before myself and my needs. I was, of course, struck by how imperfectly I do that and was faced with some real change that is needed in my own heart. It is a matter of choice. I must make the choice moment by moment to let go of what I want or even what I need in favor of what my wife, my daughter, my friends and others need. This is certainly a counter-cultural notion. A counter-cultural notion that could change the world if those of us who follow the One who embodied it and taught it would live it out more and more.